Day 11: The Netherlands

The Run is in The Netherlands, and that means one thing — we're in Rudy van Prooyen country. Our resident Dutch runner is now the talk of the town, quite literally.

Lansing and Brynn announce as Rudy leads his crowd into the square in Terneuzen

The day started with Rudy meeting a group of runners from the local Dow facility in Terneuzen’s city square who were to accompany him that day on his leg. While waiting for Simon and Jason to arrive with the baton for the exchange, Laura Furtado and Dot Helling kept everyone laughing with their stories from the "night shift." (They've been doing late-night running duty lately.) One highlight: Laura mentioned that the police were called one night because the team van was playing music loudly at an exchange (to give a beat to the runners' dancing, naturally). When the officer arrived to ask what they were doing, the runners told him, "We're running around the world," and the officer simply said, "All right" — and walked off, no questions asked.

Rudy, The Pied Piper

Simon and Jason finally arrived, and Rudy took over. Baton in hand, Rudy led the Dow runners to the local Dow plant, where a group of children joined him in a lap around the facility. Three full teams of runners jumped onstage at Dow to greet Rudy at the exchange point. (Simon started a “RUD-EE!” chant once we caught sight of the local fave.) The Dow employees were incredibly gracious hosts for a unique exchange, proving once again the commitment of Dow to the Run and the runners.

(Above and below) Brynn Harrington runs into Antwerp exchange point.

On to Antwerp (sadly, without hometown hero Rudy, who was called to Rotterdam for a live television interview). Brynn Harrington entered the exchange point after a run that included negotiating a long bicycle- and pedestrian-only tunnel. Brynn was one of the few runners in the tunnel (the Dutch are big on bikes) but was met with whoops and cheers as she descended in the elevator to the underground passage. Brynn's husband, Sean, entertained the Antwerp crowds in French while awaiting her arrival. Finally, Brynn handed off the baton to a waiting Laurel, in front of the flashbulbs from the gathered Dutch press.

Next up: Amsterdam.